A rose's EndWar (Adopted!)
by Panzer4life
Summary: AFter Ending up on Earth, Ruby adapts to a changing world. Unwittingly, she is about to enter the greatest conflict ever witness by mankind; the Third World War. Ruby has no choice but to survive the war, but will she thrive or will she merely survive? War doesn't determine who is right; only whose left. Rate M for language, violence, and acts of terrorism.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Fallen Petal Adrift in the Snow.**

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 **\/\/\/**

 _St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, December 22_ _nd_ _, 2012_

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"Damn is it cold," muttered the weary and tired 27 year old Patrol Officer Sergei Petrov. He was nearing the end of his eight hour shift, and was looking forward to going back home to get out of this miserable winter night. He was annoyed that he was on duty so late at night. Apparently, some of the detectives found out that the Bratva _sukas_ were running a human trafficking ring out of the docks. 2 hours later Sergei was keep an eye on the patrol cars as the other men of his unit were putting ten Bratva enforcers into body bags and the rest were already being shipped to jail.

He sighed, thinking about how he joined the police force to get back at the Bratva, or the Russian Mafia as most foreigners called the Bratva. He hated Bratva, as it was due to their activities in human trafficking and the sex-trade that got his brother killed and his sister forced to be a prostitute against her will. He clenched his fist in disgust; when he heard his sister committed suicide to rid herself of those memories, Sergei promised to take down as many that served within Bratva as he could.

Sadly, such a promise was very difficult to maintain, as Bratva was like a cancer in Russia; removing a cell in one part of town only for another to spring up across town. Intercept a shipment of drugs, weapons, and human cargo and Bratva will merely find a new shipment route. And don't even mention the number of times Sergei had to deal with telling the love ones of officers who died trying to stamp out the disease that was the Bratva.

He was about to pull out a cigarette to get his mind off the Bratva when he heard yelling. Despite it not being Russia, Sergei had learned enough English to know that the yelling was a cry for help. Shoving his pack back into his pocket, Sergei began moving towards the yelling, quickly radioing his commander.

"Captain, I hear a cry for help, I'm going to investigate," Sergei quickly reported. He heard his captain mumbling something incoherent before speaking up more clearly.

"Alright officer, but exercise caution; these sukas could try and capture you to bargin you for a couple of their comrades," his captain replied. Sergei nodded.

"Of course captain, I should make contact soon enough," Sergei answered. He ran around the corner of a dockyard building, and his eye's widened in shock.

On the ground was a girl curled up who looked no older than twelve years old. Her skin was pale, her black hair with a tint of red was cut short, and she was wearing largely black clothing with a red cape. But while the scene might've caused some concern if it was just that, it was what Sergei saw in the snow that was beneath and around the girl; blood.

Sergei saw that the girl was bleeding, and if the amount of crimson snow was any indication, it was a pretty serious wound. Sergei closed in and knelt down to the girl, trying to appraise the situation. The girl began flailing for a moment before calming down for a moment, allowing Sergei to see that the bleeding orginated from a wound across her abdomen. While it wasn't deep enough to knick any vital organs, it was large enough to cause sufficient bleeding. For once Sergei was glad it was a cold winter night; the cold would restrict blood flow, something useful when seconds counted.

"Ah, you speak English da?" Sergei began, regretting his decision to not learn English and only knowing what he gleamed from Western Cinema to guide him. The girl nodded.

"I u-u-understand y-you," the girl replied, her words stuttering out as an effect of the cold. Sergei then took his cap off, showing the pin on it.

"I is a police officer, da? I is going to get help for you to get your wound look at, okay?" Sergei informed the girl. While he spoke, he had made hand gestures to relay the meaning more effectively. The girl nodded.

"Okay," she simply answered, giving him a thumbs up. Sergei quickly reached for his radio.

"Captain, I have a wounded adolescent girl over here behind Warehouse…13," Sergei relayed to his captain. "Requesting medivac, she suffered a laceration across her abdomen." He heard his captain sigh wearily.

"Copy that Officer Petrov, a ambulance is being rerouted to your location; its not like some of these damn suka enforcers need immediate attention anyway," his captain said. Sergei decided to ignore the not so subtle meaning behind his captain's words. He turned to the girl, who was shivering in the cold. He gave her his Ushanka and made sure to tie it so the flaps covered her ears. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing in this cold.

"Everything is going to be okay," he said to the girl. "Everything is going to be okay."

 **\/\/\/**

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"Officer Petrov, have a seat," his captain commanded. Sergei quickly took the offered seat, before locking eyes with his captain, Captain Orlov, a former Spetsnaz Sergeant. Orlov raised a folder.

"Officer, do you know anything about the girl you found during last night's raid at the docks?" Orlov questioned quietly. "Did you take anything off of her, whether on purpose or on accident?"

Sergei quirked an eyebrow, as he was wondering why he was being interrogated on whether he stole anything off the girl. He had no reason to do that, as his main focus was on getting her medical attention.

"No sir, why do you ask?" Sergei asked. Orlov pinched the bridge of his noise in frustration before he handed Sergei the folder. Sergei opened it up and saw something that was frightening; next to no information. No name, no information as to where she came from, no travel papers, no past history, nothing. Just her picture and the medical report from the doctor that tended to her injuries.

"The girl you found has no information of any kind," Orlov began. "We have gotten in contact with various embassies from English-speaking countries to see if they have any information to tell us who she may be, but so far no such information has come to light. It is as though she was simply dropped in that back alley, a ghost incarnate."

"So what's to happen to her?" Sergei asked. Orlov shrugged wearily.

"Well, normally we would find who she is related to, however, she had no ID or anything to track down her parents, guardian, or relatives," Orlov said quietly. "If the embassies can't find anything, then the only option is to…"

"…leave her at one of the orphanges," Sergei finished for his captain, his face curling in disgust. While he had the good fortune to grow up with his family, he knew all too well the fate that lay for those given into the system.

If she was to reap her way into life, she could end up with a scholarship to a local college and get a moderately well-paying job, join the armed forces and climb through the ranks, or join the local police. If she merely got through with little to no incidents, she could end up getting a minimum-wage job unless she got promoted through merit.

However, as with all state-run orphanages, the risk of her life taking a turn for the worse was high. The appeal to belong to a family, along with the perceived and real pressure of not having a great chance at making it big in life, forced many into the criminal underworld. While boys could become the soldiers of various gangs and criminal syndicates, girl were often used like cattle, forced into prostitution or worse.

Sergei let out a breath of frustration, slumping in his chair. IT sucked that this girl, who most likely was a foreigner, was going to end up in the system. With no knowledge of the local language and of the local underworld, she could and probably would be ripped apart like a lamb to wolves, feasted upon by the wolves of the criminal underworld.

"Sir, is that the only option?" Sergei asked. "You know that she seemed to only understand English. Without learning the language, the odds of her…"

"I know," interrupted Orlov. "But sadly protocol dictates what we can do. The only thing I can do is arrange to have her dropped off at which orphanage within the district."

"And which orphanage is she going to end up in?" Sergei asked. Orlov rubbed his chin, handing Sergei another folder.

"I've decided upon a privately funded orphanage that is run by those who had to endure the hardships she will be enduring," Orlov said quietly. "It may not be much, but the rate that children resort to crime is significantly lower than that of other orphanages in the area. In addition, they have several programs to keep the children from ending up in the local gangs."

Sergei read the file quickly, nodding silently at both what he read and at his captain's words. This orphanage seemed like the best chance she would have, as the ones running it knew of the hell that being an orphan could be, and it seemed like his captain was trying to even the odds for the girl. He closed the file.

"Very well sir," Sergei replied. "Is there anything that I'm needed for?" Orlov nodded solemnly, leaving Sergei with the feeling of a heavy weight placed upon his shoulder. He knew he wasn't going to like it at all.

 **\/\/\/**

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"We are here," a translator said to the young girl that Sergei was handing over to those that ran the orphanage that she would be residing at until she became of age.

"Where are we?" the girl asked timidly. The translator, a fellow Police officer, sighed.

"We're at your new home," the officer answered, plastering a fake smile, one that the girl and Sergei obviously saw through. The girl frowned, clearly knowing that the officer wasn't being totally honest with her, but Sergei had a job to do. He stepped out of the car and quickly opened the back seat, gesturing the girl to get out and follow him.

He walked quietly but with a heavy heart towards the orphange's front door. The girl kept up, but he could see the hesitancy, anxiousness, and fear that she had at entering this new place. He would to, as on the car ride the girl had inquired where her father and older sister were. Sergei was going to ensure that the names that she provided for her father and sister would be sent to embassies that would most likely have the best chance of finding them.

He opened the door, allowing the young girl in, and saw that the people who ran the orphanage, a fairly young couple in their mid twenties, standing in front of them.

"Hello officer," the man said, shaking hands with Sergei. "I wish the circumstances at our meeting were under better terms, but alas…"

"As do I," Sergei agreed. "Have you read the file about the girl's situation?" The man nodded.

"Yes; we understand that she most likely is a lost foreign child that the state wants us to handle until such time as either she can be picked up by her family or becomes an adult," the man replied. Sergei sighed, before handing the man a piece of paper, which the man signed quickly. It was a form that indicated that the orphanage would be held responsible for the girl's health and wellbeing, and would be liable for any court claims in the event something occurred to the girl while under their care.

Sergei turned to the girl after stuffing the form into his coat's inner jacket.

"Well, good bye child," Sergei said in his slow English. Sergei turned around and began to walk out, but not before he heard the girl's quiet response.

"Thank you sir," the girl politely thanks him, her voice being low with depression. Sergei tightened his jaw, maintaining his rigid posture to not be disgusted with himself. As he walked out of the orphanage and the doors closed behind him, he spoke in his native tongue for the girl.

"May you find peace Ms. Rose."

 **\/\/\/**

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 **Author's Note: Well, another story, another author's note. Damn, I wish my brain could shut off, but it shan't do that for my wellbeing. Oh well, to cover some background behind the story's origins.**

 **The story has been filtering through my mind in one form or another, with the basis that Ruby ends up on Earth and ends up fighting WW3, before returning to Remnant and delivering a can of whoop-ass onto the White Fang, the Grimm, and Cinder. However, I hadn't gotten motivated until I went to the community of EndWar Online, where I posted a thread where they could vote onto the 'origin' of Ruby Rose.**

 **This in turn gave me enough reason to start the story, despite having now 7 other stories to write and material to write 3 more. As a result, it is time to show the end result of the EWO community votes and my work.**

 **The EWO community had 2 things to vote on; which country Ruby would side with and what Battalion she would be apart of. After a month of voting, the results were the Russian's Spetsnaz Guard Brigade. While the battalion wasn't voted on that much, I have decided to make it an Airborne battalion, as while Mechanized and Armor battalions could easily be done, the thought of special forces units getting supported by helicopter gunships and CAS planes appealed to me.**

 **So this chapter was to act as the prologue to what Ruby will be facing before becoming embroiled in WW3. I plan on time skipping, as while a lot does happen lore wise in EndWar between 2012 and 2020, not a lot of it will apply to Ruby, at least not immediately. So I will be planning a time skip in the next chapter, which will show Ruby adapting to Earth and Russian society.**

 **Also, I had offered the EWO community to have a chance at their OC being Ruby's partner if they submitted a story cover art with Ruby being in her SGB uniform. Alas, no submissions were submitted, so I turn to you guys to see if you guys can come up with something.**

 **So until the next chapter, please follow, favorite, and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Forgot to add this disclaimer before but here it is now; I don't own either 'RWBY' or 'Tom Clancy's End War'. They are owned by their respective owners, and this is merely a work of entertainment, and not a work for profit.**

 **Chapter Two: Catalyst of the End**

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 _St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, August 5_ _th_ _, 2016_

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"Captain Petrov, get your ass in here now!" came the pissed offed command from the recently promoted Commissar Orlov. Sergei had been promoted to Captain at the same time as Orlov, due to the previous Commissar having died due to complications during surgery and Orlov taking the mantle as Commissar. That said, Sergei, now 31, had been scouted for the position for some time now, due to his relentless pursuit of Bratva operations in St. Petersburg.

That said, Sergei still had to listen to Orlov, and he had a sneaking suspicion as to the source of Orlov's fury. _Damn it, why must you do this to me just two weeks after I got promoted?_

Sergei entered Orlov's office, which remained largely unchanged except with his plaque saying commissar instead of captain. As for Orlov, well, he had more gray in his head, and he was beginning to bald; _probably the stress of the job_ , Sergei thought to himself.

"Captain Petrov, do you know why I called you in?!" asked Orlov rhetorically. "This is a report from Officer Dmitri, ahem; 'At 1345 hours, I received a report of an assault in progress at the Lakhta Center construction sight. When I arrived, I saw four male teenagers on the ground with various injuries, the most severe being a shattered wrist, whilst a female teenager was wiping her hands as though she had gotten dust on them."

"'I interviewed the girl, who identified herself as Ruby Rose-" Sergei groaned; _damn it, I was right, why can't you stay out of trouble?_ "-and she stated that the four males had tried and coerce her into having sex against her will. She stated that she fought them off. When I inquired about the nature of their injuries, she didn't seem apologetic to their state of health, saying, and I quote, 'they shouldn't have tried to force themselves on me'."

"'Video evidence by the sight's CCTV cameras confirm her story, yet this is the fifth time in two years that Ms. Rose has been in violent situations where she responds with brutal efficiency. I suggest getting Ms. Rose into a self-defense class to mitigate the damage she inflicts upon would-be attackers at the very least.'"

Orlov put the report down before sending a withering glare at Sergei.

"Do you realize that your 'protégé' is causing the department more headaches than any one individual?" Orlov asked, with Sergei wincing internally. He hadn't known the state Ruby would take his training in hand-to-hand combat two years ago, nor could he have known Ruby's all-encompassing view on justice, but he couldn't deny that he was responsible (albeit indirectly) for Ruby's 'forceful' dealings with local thugs.

"I won't deny my involvement in these situations, yet what would you have me do? She isn't using her knowledge in self-defense to assault anyone, she only fights against those that throw the first punch," Sergei explained. "If she was abusing her power or something to the effect thereof, then of course I could easily do something, but alas she isn't. So what do you want me to do?"

Orlov remained silent for a moment, before he handed Sergei a pamphlet. Raising an eyebrow, Sergei opened the pamphlet. While he could have suspected many things (perhaps sending Ruby to a nonviolence course, even though Ruby wasn't malicious violent, she merely didn't have that much restraint when push came to shove) what he saw wasn't anything he had expected.

"Um, Commissar, are you sure you handed me the right pamphlet?" Sergei asked, raising the pamphlet in question. "I thought you wanted Ruby to be less proactive in her self-defense, not being more aggressive in them." Orlov sighed, as Sergei didn't make an unstated connection to Ruby and the pamphlet.

"Captain, tell me, in all of the cases involving Ms. Rose, do you know what the single, all binding, unnoted yet all important factor is?" Sergei shook his head. "It's pathetically simple; Ms. Rose has too much time on her hand."

"Think about it," Orlov implored. "Last year, she was walking around the park when she stumbled on that drug deal and she intervened. A month after that, she was enjoying a day along the Neva River when she saw a thug robbing an old lady. At the beginning of this year and a month thereafter, she was merely walking around the city when she took it upon herself to stop two muggings. And this latest incident she was just walking by a construction site when the men set upon her. If she had something to occupy her time, she wouldn't be casually walking around the city, taking it upon herself to 'help out' and causing a headache for us."

Sergei frowned, but merely in thought and not in disgust. He had to admit Orlov did have a point, but seriously, was this the best way to keep Ruby from being in future police reports? But before he could speak up, Orlov stood up.

"Now, I have a meeting with the Chief of Police in an hour. Captain Petrov, I am ordering you to see Ms. Rose tomorrow and _implore_ her to check out program. If she refuses, then fine, but do tell her that the next time she involves herself in this manner of conduct that we won't be so forgiving."

Sergei swallowed back the flurry of curses he wanted to shove at Commissar Orlov. He hated that his superior was telling him to extort Ruby into falling in line. Sergei walked out of Orlov's office, shaking his head in annoyance. _Damn it Ruby, why couldn't you merely protect yourself_?

* * *

 _St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, August 6_ _th_ _, 2016_

* * *

"Ah, Captain Petrov, a pleasure to see you again," the head warden of the orphanage, Mr. Alexander Belka, said shaking Sergei's hand. "I take it that you are here to speak with Ms. Rose, again?"

Sergei chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, the commissar wants me to get her to stop freely roaming the city and getting into trouble by joining one of the youth programs," Sergei said, a hint of his lingering animosity being caught on by Alexander.

"I see," Alexander said non-committal. "Which program did the commissar want you to promote to Ms. Rose?"

"Take a wild guess," Sergei said, before handing Alexander the pamphlet. Alexander eyed it for a moment before scoffing.

"Yeah, like this will go over too well for her," Alexander said. "Seriously, while Ms. Rose does have a, how shall we say, idealistic view of justice and the way the world should be, she isn't anything if not resolute in her moral code. I would be shocked to see her join that program; it goes against her nature too much."

"You think I don't know that?" Sergei asked Alexander. "Of course she won't, but Commissar Orlov will have my ass if I don't try, and to make matters worse, he all but stated that should she refuse and gets involved in another situation, the police won't be so lenient. I don't want that for her, but of course I'm but a small cog in a much larger machine, one that has been increasingly annoyed with her."

Alexander frowned at Sergei's self-depreciating statement. While yes he wasn't someone of great in the St. Petersburg Police force, he doubted that the entire police force was against Ruby, only those that had to explain why an orphan 16 year old had to take matters into her own hands. Alexander clapped his hand on Sergei.

"Captain, don't despair so quickly," Alexander said quietly while he led Sergei to Ruby's room. "While Ruby probably refuse to head into the program, she will listen to you and heed your advice. It doesn't matter if it isn't by the means Orlov handed you, so long as he gets the desired results, right?"

Sergei nodded, heeding the head warden's words. So long as Ruby found something to do with her time and therefore stopped getting involved in police cases, the it would be a win for everyone. Sergei sighed.

"Thanks Alexander," Sergei said. The duo had arrived at the door to Ruby's room. "Well, you mind if I have a moment to talk to Ms. Rose privately?" Alexander Belka nodded before walking off. Sergei twisted the door knob and quietly entered the room.

Despite being an orphanage, every orphan had their own room, so give them a semblance of having something that was theirs. While this meant that the upkeep was significantly higher, it did result in better overall improvements for the orphans. As a result, Sergei had seen this room develop from an austere white room fit for an asylum to a decorated room of highly energetic girl.

The wall was now painted in a warm red, with numerous drawings of various things pinned on them. These drawings were often of mechanical in nature, such as a car, aircraft, but sometimes they were of outlandish weapons, such as a scythe/sniper rifle combination weapon, or a pair of shotgun gauntlets. Besides that was a small desk with a simple lamp, a shelf with a couple of books, and finally a bed that was shoved in the corner, with a black and red checkered blanket covering the bed. Yet it was the occupant that was in the room that had Sergei's attention.

On the bed was Ruby Rose, now 16 years old. Her hair remained largely unchanged, yet the rest of her appearance had changed. Having hit a growth spurt and getting a more balanced diet (Ruby had told Sergei that her family lived in an area that had issues with producing enough food for everyone), she had shot up from her short 5'2" to a more respectable 5'8"*. Her clothing now consisted of a black sleeveless shirt with a Red Rose pattern, a pair of black cargo pants and heavy black boots, with her signature red cape having been repaired and altered to be more of a cloak suitable for the cold winters.

Ruby took off her headphones (Sergei knew that she worked at a bakery part time, so it explained how she was listening to music on an IPod), sitting up to look at Sergei.

"Hello Captain!" Ruby cheerfully greeted, waving politely at Sergei. "Congratulations on the promotion by the way!"

"Thanks Ruby," Sergei replied, before getting serious. "Alas I'm here on business." Ruby's cheerful demeanor took a backseat, her smile fading away.

"Oh, what this time?" Ruby asked bluntly. "I don't go around looking for trouble. Every time you come over its because of boring Orlov having a problem with me. I haven't done anything wrong, every case I was in the right!"

"I know that, but at the same time, having 5 different cases on police records, even if it was in self-defense of you or another, has got Commissar Orlov highly annoyed," Sergei said, trying to placate Ruby. "I'm not here to do the usual 'leave it to the police' speech. Orlov, in his infinite reason, thinks you have too much time on your hands, so he sent me to try and 'make you see reason' and join this program."

Sergei handed Ruby the pamphlet, taking a breath in, waiting for the inevitable…

"You've got to be shitting me!" Ruby lashed out, crumpling up the pamphlet. "There's no way in hell I'm going to enter a Cadet Corp just so Orlov doesn't have to read another report involving me! You should've known better; I want to help people, not kill them!"

Sergei winced; he did know this, Alexander Belka knew this, hell, he wouldn't pass it that Orlov knew this, but he was told to get Ruby out of Orlov's hair. Sergei knew exactly why Ruby, despite wanting to help people and be a hero in a way, wouldn't join either the police force or the army.

It was a simple reason; Ruby couldn't see herself killing another human being. She wanted to help people, and while she would defend herself with force, she always made sure it wasn't lethal force. As she had explained; people can be forgiven only if they are alive to be forgiven. Sergei had tried to argue that some acts were unforgiveable, which she agreed with, but she maintained that she rather not stain her hands with the blood of another person just because she had orders to kill another living person. Sergei waited a moment for Ruby to calm herself down before he spoke up.

"Look, this was Orlov's suggestion, not mine, so please, don't get angry at me. In the grand scheme of things, Orlov wants you to occupy yourself instead of wandering around the city and getting involved in a scuffle," Sergei explained. "So you don't have to join the Cadet Corp; it's just the first suggestion. If you found something to occupy your time with besides your part time job, then it would achieve the same result."

Ruby was about to argue (she wanted to point out that the police shouldn't be telling her how she should be spending her time) when a knock came from her door.

"Ruby, are you awake?" came the panicked voice of a young girl. Sergei watched as Ruby lept off her bed and quickly went to the door, opening it. Sergei saw that it was Ruby's best friends Vera Kirov, who had blond hair and had a blue beret on her head. Yet Sergei notice the shock that was in her eyes.

"Hello Vera, what's wrong?" Ruby asked, having picked up on Vera's state. Vera swallowed before speaking.

"The news... it's so horrible, have you not seen it?" Vera asked, seemingly distracted. Ruby shook her head. Vera took a deep breath.

"Follow me, you need to hear this," Vera said. Sergei followed Ruby and Vera into the orphanage's recreation room, where it seemed that everyone in the orphanage, including Alexander Belka, standing in front of a television. While Ruby had to get closer to see what was on the television, Sergei saw what the source of Vera's discomfort was.

It was a breaking news report from the Russia Today from Saudi Arabia. While the news' anchor's voice wasn't heard by Sergei, nor could he read the words that were scrolling along the bottom of the screen, he didn't need any of that to discern what he saw. An ominous mushroom cloud was rising from a large city, many of the structures collapsing in on themselves.

Sergei paled as everyone seemed to be quiet long enough to hear what the news' anchor had to say.

"According to initial reports, the nuclear blast in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has claimed the lives of five million people. The Islamic radicals led by Qahira Zaima stated they were behind the nuclear blast. The nuclear attack was preceded by 5 bombings that have crippled Saudi Arabia's major oil facilities, crippling the oil supply in the Middle East."

"At the time of the nuclear blast, several key officials from OPEC and the prime Ministers from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey were in the capital. While it is unclear at this time if this attack was political or economic, it has crippled the Middle East. At this time, the UN is flying in emergency relief teams to take in the wounded left by the blast and to try and contain the radioactive cloud."

At this point, everyone began talking amongst each other, panic and confusion clear to Sergei. He stepped back before he saw Alexander Belka approach him.

"My God, I can't believe this," Alexander said quietly. "A nuclear attack in the capital of Saudi Arabia, killing both political and economic leaders in the Middle East, I don't think we can be prepared for the inevitable fallout from this attack."

Sergei nodded, understanding what Alexander was getting out. With most of the major Middle East nations without their political leaders that had been stabilizing their countries, it was inevitable that the region would collapse into a series of war, with various factions trying to vie for power. In addition, the loss of the oil fields and the upper leadership of OPEC, the flow of the precious black gold would be heavily impacted, affecting the entire world, with skyrocketing gas prices. It had been predicted a few years ago that at the current rate of consumption the lass of the oil reserves would be expended in fifty years, but with the terrorist attacks, it got dramatically shorter.

In essence, an entire region would collapse into what could vaguely be called civil wars, the world's oil supply had taken a massive hit, and now most leaders around the world were probably running around trying to make sure that they don't prey to a nuclear attack. Sergei sighed wearily; this terrorist attack was perfectly executed and would achieve what the terrorist wanted; fear of them across the world.

"How do you think this will affect Russia?" Sergei asked. Alexander shrugged.

"I never got into politics, but I do know that the Middle East and Russia were often trade partners, with Russia giving arms to the Middle Eastern nations and in return they gave us fuel and money. Besides the skyrocketing gas prices that we will experience, I haven't a clue. Perhaps the government will try and ration the oil reserves we have, but again, I haven't a clue."

"I see, I just hope this attack doesn't spur more anti-Islamic attitude in society; God only knows how much bigotry I have to deal with without terrorist giving people a bullshit reason to commit crimes," Sergei replied. Sergei was about to leave and rush back to the station, as he no doubt that there would be panic, but he was stopped by Ruby Rose approaching him.

"Ms. Rose, are you okay?" Sergei asked. Ruby shook her head.

"No, I can't believe that this happened," Ruby answer, her voice devoid of her usual excitement. "How could anyone kill five million people? What did they hope to gain by all this needless blood shed?" Sergei shook his head.

"People like these terrorists never care about others, only themselves and their goals. If killing their kin is the best way for them to get more power, they would do it. I understand your frustration, and I will leave you to…" He was interrupted by a question from Ruby.

"How many would've died if that attack happened here?" Ruby asked. Sergei frowned, not understanding where this came from.

"Er, about the same, St. Petersburg has about five million people while Riyadh has five point seven million, why do you ask?" Ruby was quiet for a moment, thinking in her head for a moment.

"Captain, tell your commissar I will take his suggestion," Ruby said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I can't just sit idly by and let people be in harm's way if terrorists can kill so many innocent people."

Sergei was about to object, but he saw the fires in Ruby's eyes, one he had seen in people who had seen firsthand the terrible nature of man. He knew that he couldn't stop Ruby from going down this path, even if it went against her morals, as she felt that if she didn't, she would be as guilty as those that dared to harm innocent people for their own agendas. He nodded wearily.

"Very well Ms. Rose, I will inform the commissar of your decision," Sergei said, feeling slightly defeated as Ruby's moral code had been bent or outright shattered and that Orlov would be getting exactly what he wanted. Sergei waved good bye to Ruby, who quickly turned to comfort her friend Vera. Having nothing left here to do, Sergei walked out of the orphanage, wondering what would happen to Ruby, Russia, and the world in the future.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Alright guys, another A/N to get through, and I have a couple of points to get out there right away.**

 **Why was the target of the nuclear attack that occurred in End War's timeline Riyadh? There are three reasons. The first is Riyadh is Saudi Arabia's largest city in terms of population with 5.7 million people living there, which is 1/6 the population of Saudi Arabia. This would be a excellent reason for terrorist to target the city. Second, I could see the city being used for as the center of a negotiation between OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and between various political leaders. And the third reason is that by killing 5 million people, the leaders of OPEC and the government leaders of various Middle Eastern Nations, the flow of oil wouldn't be centered in the Middle East as the ensuing chaos would devastate the oil being exported from their.**

 **In addition, the minor conflict of Ruby's morals and Orlov's demanded to get her in the military cadet program stems from the fact that despite being a huntress that slays Grimm with no impunity, she never actually kills a person directly. Think about it, her fight with Roman's thugs they are merely knocked out, she tries to capture not kill Torchwick, and while yes during the train fight in season 2 she did knock of White Fang soldiers off the train, you clearly don't see her flaying them into tiny pieces like she does against the Grimm.**

 **Thus, I had it in my mind to have this minor conflict of Ruby's moral code (killing monsters is fine, but humans can be forgiven and if not, imprisoned for their crimes) having to adapt to the nature of the Riyadh nuclear bombing. She isn't breaking her moral code, only modifying it to fit into the more brutal nature of Earth. She won't be killing people senselessly or ordering bombing runs on minor targets, but she won't hesistate to pull the trigger if it means saving those around her from Death's hand.**

 **Also, the next chapter will jump forward 2 years, where Ruby will be getting a surprise visit from someone important to the Russian story of End War. Who is it; I'm not telling, not yet anyway! The how and why will become clear in the next chapter, so please wait.**

 **With those points covered, until next time, please read, follow, favorite, and review the story!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: The Rising Protégé and the Puppeteer of War**

* * *

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, June 12th, 2018

* * *

"Calm down Ruby, you've nothing to fear," Vera quietly told her friend, the two standing side by side in their cadet formation. Ruby had been shocked that Vera decided to follow in Ruby's steed when Ruby told her about her decision to join the military cadet program. Vera hadn't shown any interest in joining the military, or for that matter the police, before Ruby mentioned the program, but it turned out that Vera's father had been a pilot in the Russian Air Force, only to have died and left Vera an orphan during the Russo-Georgian War.

So now they two were standing in formation with the others of in the military cadet corp of their school, preparing for graduation parade that they were going to before the proper high school graduation began. Ruby was in her green cadet uniform, with triple chevrons on her shoulders indicating her rank as Cadet Captain. Due to having only joined the Cadet program two years before her graduation from high school, Ruby had only managed to climb to the rank of captain, but apparently it was still an achievement.

This was because usually it took three years to reach that sort of rank, and following the nuclear terrorism two years prior, there was a surge in young adults joining the military cadet corp. This meant that competition for the higher ranks was fierce. Ruby had managed to climb so quickly however due to her constant moral integrity, loyalty, actually doing her duties above and beyond what was needed, whereas many tried to climb the ranks by back handed methods, ass-kissing, or intimidating the competition. The former military officers that led Ruby's Cadet Corp had noticed her shining reputation in comparison to the other cadet's less than stellar rep and she was always in the top three for promotions when they opened up.

But that was beside the point, as Ruby was in her position in the front row, on the right most columns, holding the Cadet Corp flag. The only people in front of her were the Cadet Corp's leaders/instructors, Cadet Corp's Colonel, Lt. Colonel, and finally the Major. They were the only people above Ruby's rank, and had gotten their because of the fact they had a total of four years to climb the ranks.

"Attention!" came the bellowing command from the C.C. Colonel, a young male with blonde hair and blue eyes. "Eyes right, forward march!" Ruby took a deep breath before straightening up. _This was it, the parade in front of the entire graduating class. There was no reason to be nervous, none at all…_

Holding her flag as instructed, Ruby, along with the rest of the formation, began marching in a goose step, their attention to their right. They had practiced this march for an entire week straight, until the higher ups were satisfied. The reason why became apparent as Ruby saw who was amongst the crowd.

Standing on a special platform overlooking the march were several military commanders, mostly from the army and navy but there were a few air commanders, a number of political figures, a veritable swarm of bodyguards, and finally Vsevelod Kapalkin, the President of the Russian Federation, and General Sergei Izotov, general of the new created Spetsnaz Guard Brigade. Ruby's grip on her flag pole tightened, realizing that the two most prominent people in the modern Russia were watching her C.C.'s march. She wondered why those two, along with many other military commanders, were here. But she had a march to complete, and she wouldn't let her thoughts intervene in her current mission; I _must finish this march, follow that with standing at parade rest in formation until the graduation ceremony is over, and then I can dwell on little things such as why the most powerful men in Russia are here._

* * *

"My, it seems this Cadet Corp is nothing if not well organized," President Kapalkin mused to the person sitting to his right, General Sergei Izotov. "I wonder how many of them will join the armed forces." Sergei smirked.

"In the last two years, the number of cadets from these programs that join the armed forces has jumped from 25% to 55%, so easily half of them will join," Sergei answered. "And it has had other benefits, such as those that come from these programs often climb the ranks from enlisted to officers faster than those who don't, the number of infractions is significantly lower in those from the C.C. programs than those with no experience, and they seem to adapt to military life easier."

As Kapalkin smiled, General Sergei mentally thought about the past two years. Things had changed for Russia, and mostly for the better. With the oil from the Middle East crippled by the August 6th nuclear attack, Russia became the world's number one supplier of natural gas. Thus, while every other nation struggled to prosper with the rising gas prices, Russia actually had a veritable wealth flowing into the country. This made the leaders of Russia ponder; what should it spend this surplus of funds on?

Leading up to the 2016 elections, the answer would've been infrastructure, education, civil services, and possibly industry. But the elections happened, and the reign of Vladmir Putin gave way to the upstart nationalist, one who wanted to bring Russia from a nation looked upon in disdain and scoffed at to a superpower that all nations would have to respect, to recover lands lost since the fall of the Soviet Union, the one and current President Kapalkin.

With Kapalkin in power, the leadership of Russia changed from dealing with conniving back room stabbing to a nationalist fervor, where the matters of the nation's power came before personal gain. He began by shuffling those closest to him in terms of goals and motives into seats of power, such as Sergei, who had been Kapalkin's biggest backer during his race for the Presidency. As such, the wealth coming from Russia's natural resources was poured into the radically downsized Russian military, with an emphasis on improving the equipment, training, and sheer size of it back to its Cold War status. As a result, Russia now had the world's largest army, with modern equipment to match those of any potential enemies, and with war plans that were being drafted from any number of scenarios.

Alas, as Sergei watched the C.C. finish their march, Russia was in a new precarious position. With its abundance of natural resources that it was currently exporting, Russia was now facing a number of new problems. The first was merely political slash economical. A number of nations, not wanting to fuel the Russian War machine by buying its natural gases, had begun extensive research into alternate fuels or advance hybrid engines to limit the amount of gas they had to import from Russia. The second however dealt with the two enemies that Russia was now facing; the young European Federation and the classic rival the United States.

The European Federation was born shortly after the joint US-EU missile shield program was implemented. It was essentially the European Union made into a superpower, with a combined GDP and population larger than the US and also Russia. There was already mounting tensions between the EF and Russia, with the Europeans constantly pushing the bounds of their military fortifications in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Scandinavia, and by quickly adapting hydrogen fuel cells to be the fuel of choice within the Federation. This left Russia with a major nation that refused to buy its fuel. Their military was also more advance than Russia in terms of drone and electronic warfare, but surprisingly their military was smaller than Russia's.

The United States on the other hand was suspicious of Russia's motives. Leading up to the August 6th attack, the US had been against the Russia invasion in Georgia and the Ukraine as well as antagonizing Russia with trying to set up a missile shield in Poland. While they may have been eclipsed on the political field due to years of war in the Middle East and the rise of the European Federation, Sergei and many other Russian commanders knew that if the US and Russia were to go into a war, it would be a bloody, long affair.

This was because the Us military, despite being involved in fights against technologically and numerically inferior enemies for the past couple of decades, had extensive military experience that was being remodeled for a more modern battlefield. No longer was the US expecting a wave of Russian tanks to cross the Fulda Gap and responding with tanks and helicopter gunships of their own, the US was expecting lighting strikes that they would responded in kind. This was evident by the recent development of the US Joint Strike Force, which many in Russia's intelligence corp quickly likened to 'a better armed, trained, marine expeditionary force designed for rapid insertion into enemy territory'.

Thus, Russia was facing two enemies that Sergei had to prepare for. Thankfully, neither the Americans nor the Europeans were on good terms. Shortly after the missile shield, both sides quickly began a space arms race, with the US leading due to facilities and having the ability to pour more resources in sending military satellite into orbit. This and the Europeans began blocking US efforts to send relief to any of their allies overseas, stating that 'the Americans had done enough already'. This had caused tensions to spike between the two superpowers.

As the graduation ceremony began in earnest, Sergei was forced out of his mulling by President Kapalkin leaning over to him.

"How goes Operation Exiled Freedom?" Kapalkin quietly asked, using the noise to mask their conversation.

"So far we have made a bit of progress," Sergei answered. "The Forgotten have begun to amass in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, but they lack the size, equipment, and training needed for our plans." Kapalkin nodded wearily.

"I know that, but our involvement must remain hidden at all costs. If the Euros or the Americans find out about us funding terrorists…"

"They will not," Sergei assured the president. "Besides, most of the equipment we are planning to give them are from old warehouses, which we can conveniently state were raided or emptied in the fall of the Soviet Union. No one will be the wiser to our plans."

"Very well, but remember Sergei, our primary enemy is the upstart Euros. Too long have they been looking down at Russia from their position of wealth and political maneuvering. I seek to see the day the Russian Flag waving high above Paris, their armies crushed beneath the treads of our tanks. The Americans are at least reasonable; willingly to compromise their values and beliefs in the face of realpolitik, but the Euros are a bunch of arrogant idiots that see themselves as the pinnacle of society."

"I understand comrade President, but have no fear; the efforts myself and the others at the Ministry of Defense and Intelligence will not go to waste," Sergei said, clapping a hand on his old friend. "When everything goes to plan, the Euros will not only be facing the righteous hammer of Russia's army from the east, but the storm of revenge fueled Americans from the West. We've nothing to fear."

"Let's pray you are correct in that regards," Kapalkin muttered, turning his attention back to the graduation ceremony. Sergei did as well, watching as the President's daughter, who lived in St. Petersburg with the President's ex-wife, receive the certificate of her graduation. However, following her was a young woman Sergei recognized as the flag bearer in the C.C. march, receiving her certificate and being praised for being the amongst the top ten of her class and for being Cadet Captain of the C.C. in only two years.

Sergei scratched his chin as he heard of her plans, in her speech, of joining the armed forces. He wondered if she was just going to be another faceless soldier in the crusade Russia was going to unleash upon the Euros, or was she going to be someone of value. But his musings ended as President Kapalkin got up.

"General, it's time we see the latest that Sukhoi has to offer our illustrious air force," Kapalkin said. Sergei smiled.

"Indeed it is," Sergei remarked. "Let's hope it won't be an over engineered whimsical toy like before." Kapalkin laughed.

"Yes, let's hope indeed."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Yeah, not the longest chapter to be sure, but it had vital background information that will expand the plot. But a couple of things first.**

 **Why didn't Ruby have a large role in this chapter? Well that is because I couldn't think of a way to expand her role this chapter, as this ends the pseudo prologue arc. The next couple of chapters will deal with Ruby's initiation into the Russian military and then into the Spetsnaz Guard Brigade. This is where you guys come in again.**

 **I need original characters; a lot of them in fact. I need OCs for recruits, officers, and politicians for Russia, and the same except for recruits for the US and the European Federation. To organize this, this is the information that I need;**

 **Name: Any name is fine, though keep it realistic. So please no Mr. Bustanut**

 **Faction: The only factions at the moment are Russia, America, and Europe. I will accept OCs for the Forgotten Army now as well, but don't expect to see them anytime soon.**

 **Role: The roles are recruits, officers, politicians, and soldiers. This is so I know how they will fit into the story.**

 **Position: Similar to role, but more specific. So if you chose 'soldiers' the position could be 'marksman', 'mortar team gunner', 'at-soldier', etc. This kind of thing.**

 **Gender: male/female**

 **Physical description: Things like hair color, eye color, height, weight, complexion, etc. More is generally better, but don't go overboard with your description; I do have to fit it into my story.**

 **Personality: Are they aggressive or calm, radical or centralist? Do they have quirks that stand them apart? This is where more is always better, as it will help me flesh your submissions better.**

 **Weapon of choice: This really only applies to soldiers, recruits, and officers, though I guess if you are a politican you could put down 'the pen is mightier than the sword' or 'a silver tongue', or even 'blackmail material', but I digress. Keep it reasonable to Earth, so nothing like Crescent Rose. An AK with a IRNV scope, bayonet, and a grenade launcher is fine, hell, even a man portable full-auto 40mm grenade launcher is fine, but no mecha-shift weapons whenever possible,**

 **Also, this chapter covered more background. I figure that with Kapalkin shortly entering office and being a nationalist with plans to expand Russia's influence would allow men as ruthless as General Izotov to be in power. He also wouldn't have many qualms with arming terrorist so long as it damages the US and the Euros and not Russia.**

 **This is all for now, and btw, today is my birthday, so happy birthday to me! I wish you all a happy day as I will be enjoying myself playing Ace Combat (which damn it I want to work on a fan-fic for that; this idea I've had boiling over in my head for a couple of years hasn't let up). As for when the next chapter will be out, give me a couple of weeks, as I have work and don't have all day to work on ideas.**

 **Until next time, please read, review, follow, and favorite!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Beginning of the End

* * *

St Petersburg, Russia Federation, September 1st, 2018

* * *

Ruby Rose felt stiff, not wanting to move for quite possibly the first time in a long time. The last she had been this stiff was when she realized she wasn't on Remnant all those years back. Back then, it was because of utter despair, hopelessness, and being completely alone that Ruby had been stiff and unmoving. She still wasn't over the fact that she probably would never see her sister or her father again, but now she had Vera (her best friend), Captain Petrov (the closest thing to a father figure now), and a two young adults in the orphanage that were also planning on joining the military. These two were Kolya Malashenko and Natayla Karnakov.

Kolya was the orphanage's runner boy, being sent to and from the orphanage to collect and retrieve packages whenever needed. He has brown hair and green eyes, though he has some scarring over his left eye when some thugs decided to try and burn out his eye 'for fun' before a policeman intervened. Before this had happened, he was generally quiet, but he had become more reserved and silent, only really speaking when spoken to.

Natayla meanwhile was the orphanage's bubbly and flirty girl. Much like Ruby, she had black hair, though her's had a hint of purple in it, emerald green eyes, and a tattoo of a crying angel. When Ruby has inquired about it, it was a constant reminder of Natayla's young sister Orlana, who had died in the Church fire that also orphaned Natayla. Natayla had tried on numerous occasion to get Ruby a boyfriend, but Ruby always had found some excuse to avoid the flirt's romantic inclinations.

But as to why Ruby didn't want to move, it wasn't because of despair and loneliness; nope, the reason was it was the night before she would ship out to Basic Military Training. She had thought it would've taken longer for her to be approved (she read online that it usually took 6 months before a new recruit was sent to BMT after being screened), but with the latest increase in military spending, the recruitment process was cut in third, and Ruby was shipping to basic in the morning along with the others of the orphanage.

She didn't know exactly what to expect. Sure, she had seen several videos online about various things that occurred in BMT, but she knew that those three to ten minute videos paled greatly to the real deal. It was one thing to watch someone being grilled; you could laugh at it. But when the grilling is aimed right at you, it's a whole other story.

Plus Ruby had to deal that the army wasn't like becoming a huntress. Huntsman by and large had a huge amount of leeway and freedom they were given to ensure the safety of Remnant's kingdoms (if what she remembered was accurate). But here on Earth, being in the army meant following orders, protocols, doctrines, and any failure can and will be punished to the greatest severity. In addition, where huntsman were meant to be one man army amongst the blight that were the Grimm, her studies on Earth's warfare showed a grim picture of entire armies being sent forward against one another to ensure victory at any cost. It made her pale thinking how close Remnant had come to collapsing due to human nature rather than the Grimm.

But there was no rest for the wicked as they said, and Ruby got up finally, quietly getting dressed and going out of her room towards the kitchen. When she arrived, she saw that she wasn't the only one awake at the ungodly time of 4 in the morning; Vera, Kolya, and Natalya were in the kitchen, looking somber. Vera raised her head towards Ruby, nodding toward her.

"Hello Ruby, can't sleep like the rest of us?" Vera asked. Ruby nodded.

"Yeah, the anticipation, plus a couple other things, kept me from sleeping," Ruby said, leaning on the island. Natalya handed Ruby a glass of water.

"That is what we are all feeling like," Natalya stated quietly. "Even though we are certain of doing this, I know we all have our doubts. Like would we be able to do as we are told to in the heat of the moment, could we really kill another person? I couldn't sleep with the what if running through my head."

"Yeah, the same here," Kolya said. "Even with my experience at, well I guess torture is the only term for it, at the hands of those punks, I'm not certain I could pull the trigger if it was asked of me, at least not now."

"But perhaps we won't have to," Vera inputted. "I know many people in the military who never see themselves behind a gun except to fulfill the mandatory tests, and most of the time we won't be in the field, we'll be at base, doing whatever is required of us to keep the base running."

"But we aren't talking about the norm," Ruby interrupted. "We're talking about in the field, in the moment where your life and the lives of those beside you are at Death's Mercy, would we be able to fulfill the task at hand?"

The group fell silent, as they contemplated the question. After a minute of silence, Natalya spoke up.

"I think we're overthinking this; I mean, we all signed the paper saying we would do as we are asked of, so long as it doesn't violate the laws set forth by both the Russian military and various international accords, right?" Everyone nodded, following where Natalya was going. "So why are we questioning ourselves now? I think it's because all of us have seen what life is like for those who do not have; we grew up without parents, without a singular home to call our own, I've lost my sister, Kolya nearly lost his left eye, and Ruby was separated from her father and sister. We've all lost something, so we don't want to be the ones to do that to others, even if we may never see or hear of them."

"But I wonder, could you live with yourself if by your inaction, you caused someone to die beside you, someone you knew and who trusted you, who had family waiting for them? I know I couldn't, therefore, I won't kill just because my commander is telling me that they are the bad guys, I will kill so that my friends and comrades can return to their families. But I won't be a part of any death squad, even if it means being labeled a traitor."

"Amen to that," Kolya said, tipping his glass of water towards Natalya. "I heard and read about the horrors the SS-Waffen did to our people in the Second World War, and that was unforgiveable. I couldn't even live with myself for being even remotely associated with people who seek the senseless slaughters of others."

"Alright, I guess we're pretty much over the whole 'solemn duties bit' right?" Ruby asked, hoping to get off the subject of people dying. She hated the thought of killing another person, even if it was in self-defense or in war, so having learned during her time the horrors that various groups (such as the SS) that killed numerous people in genocides in earth made her even more apprehensive about the subject.

"Yeah, besides, I'm a little worry if I'm even going to make it through basic," Vera admitted. "I mean, sure, we're all relatively smart and athletic for our orphanage, but still, basic is going to be brutal."

"I don't know what it will be like," Natalya said. "Will it always be drill sergeants screaming at us, stressing us out of our heads, or is that simply a stereotype?" Kolya chuckled.

"Sorry to break it to you Natalya, but it isn't that far off. Sure, it will be hellish for the first half, but that is to 'break' us out of our civilian mindset. I read online its gets better the latter half, due to them actually teaching you how to handle yourself and how to perform your duties. Although I wouldn't suggest fucking up, the grilling and punishments are as bad as seen on television, if not worse."

"Ugh, I don't look forward to the chemical warfare bit, where we're exposed to tear gas," Vera said. The four shuddered, having seen videos on new recruits coughing, gagging, crying, and puking their guts out after being exposed to tear gas in a control environment. None of them looked forward to that.

"I wonder how they determine what units we get into?" Ruby pondered aloud. The others thought about it for a second before Vera spoke up.

"Um, I'm not totally sure, but I would assume that it depend on your abilities and what the military currently needs. Hopefully we can choose what field we want to specialize in, but I doubt it."

"Yeah, but anyway, I'm going to head back to bed, before we have to leave for basic," Kolya said. "Night guys, hopefully this chat will knock me out." He yawned before leaving.

"Well, since this conversation is pretty much done, I'm heading to bed as well," Natalya stated. "Night Vera, Ruby."

"Well. Seeing as everyone is going to bed, I might as well try to get some more sleep. Night Ruby," Vera said a moment after Natalya had left, walking out of the kitchen leaving the black-and-red haired young woman staring at her glass softly.

She hadn't imagined herself ending up on another planet, joining a national army, and being prepared for when the nation is plunged into war once more. She had imagined herself heading to Beacon, following two years behind her sister Yang, being a hero and the mightiest of huntresses, slaying more Grimm than any before. Yet here she was, in a kitchen a scant couple of hours away from transitioning from civilian to military life, having long since identifying herself as a Russian before a Vale citizen. She sighed.

"Will I ever see you again sis?" Ruby asked to herself. She frowned as the thought that once kept her up at night barely made her heart beat faster. She sighed. "It's useless to ponder on the impossible; I've better just give up on the idea of ever seeing Yang or dad again."

* * *

 _Location Unknown, Unknown Date, Fortified Military Outpost Aquila_

* * *

A young male with short cropped jet black hair wearing a pair of black and gray urban BDU stood at rest in the middle of a room, facing towards a table where three men in three distinct military uniforms sat staring at him. The young man knew them by their call signs in the field and by their rank; General 'Odin' (wearing desert fatigues and having a cybernetic eye where his right eye should've been), Intel Major 'Flanker' (wearing a green field Marshall uniform with a pair of shades and a golden Aquila adorning a red beret), and finally Marshall 'Caesar' (a balding man in a dark grey uniform with a collapsed riot bracer adorning both arms).

"Sergeant Validor Russ, do you know why you were called in here?" inquired General Odin. The young man shook his head.

"No general, I do not," Validor answered. He saw Odin smirk towards Flanker, who pulled out a file that he must've had in his lap, before handing said file to Validor.

"Sergeant, the reason you were called in is because of information recovered by our recon drones," Flanker replied. "What we saw is quite shocking, though not entirely unexpected."

The general motioned Validor to look at the wall to his left, and Validor raised his brow at the image. It had been taken at night because the picture was in infrared, but he clearly saw a walled off thriving city with a sizeable population. Before he could notice anything else, the intelligence major continued talking.

"This picture, along with a series of others, were taken a week ago as the _Leviathan_ was passing through the Nor'easter opening by a Tu-15 Condor UAV. They obviously show an outside force besides the power blocs that form the Tribunal. Over the many hours of photo and video reconnaissance's, we have determine that this force is largely civil, but it does have an unquantifiable military presence."

The picture shifted to a convoy of heavily armed and armored mechs being escorted by a gun trucks and tilt-jet gunships. Validor briefly considered the dangers such a force would be, but alas, he knew that since the Tribunal's conception, a more menacing threat has made itself clear, one that would rationalize such machines.

While many people had their own name for the threat, the large majority had taken to calling them the Black Spawn. The Black Spawn from Validor experience were relentless, showing no signs of fear, pain, or exhaustion. When the three powers first came here, their encounter with the Black Spawn forced them to put aside the animosity between the trio of nations, working to expand against the Blight that plagued the land. As such, Validor knew that it this new power had encountered the Black Spawn, then they would take any and all measures to ensure such a threat would come crashing down upon them.

"So what do you want me to do sir?" Validor asked, directing his question to Odin. However, the answer came from Caesar.

"This Tribunal hasn't officially been informed of this discovery, and we intend to keep it that way," Caesar informed the young man. "Until we know the threat posed to us by this new power, we must ensure that the Tribunal doesn't send diplomats to them and give away our existence. As you no doubt know, diplomats are the forerunners for an enemy intelligence organization to dig in and undermine nations. Therefore, we want to send you and a couple others to get in and begin digging up information vital to our security."

Validor frowned; he wasn't a spy, much less an intelligence officer. Though he was a capable LERP due to some uniqueness that his mother never quite explained and his skill at weapon and survival training, so perhaps because there would inevitably be some trekking through the Black Spawn forest he was being considered. Still, wouldn't spies, intel officers, or even recon aircraft crew be better suited to the mission?

"With all due respect, I'm not an intel officer, I do my best with small units deep in the Black Spawn's blight. Aren't there better candidates that myself?" Validor inquired. Flanker shook his head.

"Unfortunately, the intelligence community has taken a back seat role in the last few years, with most spending being diverted to the more active forces," Flanker filled in for Validor. "While we will be inserting some teams to inspect the civil and governmental sectors of this new power before your arrival, you and your unit will be focusing on their military capability. How are they organized, what equipment do they use, do they have a particular doctrine focus, how are their soldiers trained, how would a single soldier stack up against one of ours; its these kinds of questions we need, and frankly, you and the two other candidates we've selected are amongst the bet as gaining insight into a soldier's skill and equipment analysis. So no, you are indeed the man we need to make this mission a success."

Validor sighed; with that kind of logic, it made sense. Why send someone trained to sneak into a secure compound or analyze what the enemy is doing when what you need is a military inspector of sorts? Plus, it seemed the general staff was focused on the military capabilities of this new power, so they wanted someone with military knowledge who knew what to look for. He wasn't proud to admit it, but staff was doing the right thing; a lifetime of war had taught them the hard way the importance of understanding a foreign military.

"Alright, when do I ship out to meet this new power?" Validor asked. He saw a slight smirk tug at Odin's lips, but he didn't suspect too much; he had no reason to be suspicious of the general staff's intentions, so why waste energy and time being paranoid?

"In due time Sergeant, however, you will need to begin training for your mission," Odin said calmly. "When you head out of this room, follow the Major to your new station. For the duration of this mission, you will be under black-out protocols; you will have no outside contact with anyone outside of the operation until the mission is effectively completed. Don't worry about your family, they will be informed of your mission status, just not what you are doing. You're dismissed."

Validor snapped to attention, saluting the generals before marching out of the room, his mind focused on meeting with the major to get to his new station. He left quickly, not hearing what was said between the generals.

"You realize that this act will be considered treasonous, right?" Flanker asked Caesar. Caesar smirk arrogantly.

"Remember; to the victor goes the spoil. When we oust this power as a threat, the Tribunal will have no choice but to grant us additional powers, to expand our military to combat not only the Dark Spawn but also a human enemy, and we will have clearance to use WMDs to demonstrate our power to the outsiders, as well as wiping out the Grimm. It doesn't matter what the Tribunal, or really the Empress, has to say on the matter; they all know peace is a lie; its only a lull in between the next firestorm of war."

"I hope your right," Flanker replied. "Because if the Empress were to ever know of our actions and past deeds, we would never be forgiven. Death would be too light a punishment for what we've done."

* * *

 **Author's Note: And this chapter is over! Gods, sorry about taking so long. I had work and other things on my mind, and this chapter was a bitch to write mainly because of how it sets up the rest of the story. So a few things;**

 **Yeah, Ruby's section of the story wasn't that too in-depth, however, we've introduced the first of two OCs; Natayla Karnakov from Necromatic247 and Kolya Malashenko from Ornsein the Dragon Slayer. And we set up for her time at BMT. I plan on making it a three chapter arc, with the first chapter spanning weeks 1 through 4, second chapter weeks 5 through 8, and the last chapter weeks 9 through twelve. We will see new OCs.**

 **In addition, as some of you can guess, we are getting into the forays of Remnant's portion of this story. We have a new character, Validor Russ, who will be getting involved as a semi-covert agent working for the General Staff. It's no secret what the Tribunal is, the reason I'm being all quiet about it is because it will provide plenty of background material for later chapters. So if you know what it is, great, keep quiet for those that don't, and for those that don't, it will be explained as the story progresses.**

 **Finally, I want to say this much, OCs don't have to be limited to Russia. They can be from the European Federation, the United States, and the Forgotten Army. So send in your OCs, I can always use them. Thanks for reading, please follow, favorite, and review this story. See you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: First Steps

* * *

' _Cherny Zver' Training Base, 40 miles north of Murmansk, September 3_ _rd_ _, 2018_

* * *

"Get off the bus sukas!" roared a man-nay, a beast vaguely in the shape of a man- in an olive drab uniform and a peak cap. "Don't make me repeat myself!"

Ruby never felt such an adrenaline rush as she, along with all the other recruits, grabbed their shit and filed out of the bus in a half-organize, half chaotic fashion. They quickly lined up in lines, wondering what the hell they were supposed to do. (Un)luckily for them, the ever commanding presence of the man-beast was there to inform them, along with some assistants.

"Four minutes to get off a bus, how fucking disgraceful!" the man-beast yelled, his face red with rage. "In a combat situation, you all be dead! Now then, all of you, on the ground a work off that disgrace! Fifty push-ups!"

Ruby assumed the push-up position, and began pulling them out. She was ever thankful for the abundance of energy she had growing up, as she was well fit for her age. Sadly, she could see some the recruits didn't have the physical training she forced upon herself, and some were threatening to buckle after the 30th push-up. Ruby didn't have long to wait for the man-beast to see something was wrong. The man-beast stormed over to one recruit, whose knees had buckled after the 32nd push-up.

"What the literal fuck did I just witness recruit?!" the man-beast demanded. Ruby couldn't hear the recruit's response, but whatever it was, it set off the man-beast of an instructor.

"Oh, your tired are you?" the man-beast snarled. "Well then, I guess we'll have to work on that? Everyone, I've been informed that this recruit-" The man instructor pointed the lanky red head recruit so that everyone can see him, Ruby included. "-that he was tired. Well, then I guess you're all tired. So for the next eight hours we will be exercising, in this lovely weather, until you are all un-tired and ready to begin proper! Now, I want all of you to give me one hundred push ups!"

As Ruby dropped to give the man-beast one-hundred push-ups, she began to wonder; what the hell had she signed up for?

* * *

 _Nor'easter Strait, Date Unknown, T.S.V. Leviathan_

* * *

Sgt. Validor stood on the edge of the deck of the _T.S.V._ (Tribunal Service Vessel) _Leviathan_ , a massive floating military base. Conceived by scientists, engineers, and military officers that learned that there were no aquatic Black Spawn to contend with, the Leviathan was designed to act as a base on the waters to provide both shore bombardment and act as a fully operational air, marine, and naval base.

To achieve this, the _Leviathan_ took the experienced earned from the largest ships (both civilian and military) and created a true monster; a vessel that was 1.2 kilometers long, roughly 250 meters wide, and having a deadweight tonnage of roughly 1 million tons, almost twice that of the heaviest oil tanker that was built.

For air support operations the _Leviathan_ has a fully operational flight deck with up to 60 naval strike fighters. The Leviathan is also capable of shore bombardment with twelve turrets of triple 16-inch guns that were placed on the corners of the _Leviathan._ For long range fire support it also had three series of 10 vertical launch systems capable of launching cruise missiles that could carry a wide range of warheads. For ship defense the Leviathan has no less than 20 20mm CIWS, 10 strategic SAM, and 20 dual purpose 76mm cannons.

But besides it raw firepower, the _Leviathan_ also has the room for a battalion and all their equipment, a complement of marines to defend the ship in the case of emergency, the naval personnel needed to operate the ship, and several emergency teams that can rush to any point of the ship within 5 minutes. To be able to move at any sort of speed, the _Leviathan_ uses 16 nuclear reactors to propel the ship to a steady 24 knots, allowing it to keep up with its escort vessels. It was truly the pinnacle of naval design.

However, despite Validor taking a great interest in the design of the Leviathan, his mind was elsewhere, focused on his mission. He and seven others were to deploy near one of the settlements and begin two sets of infiltrations. One team was to get within the military establishment that were seen transporting those mechs, while another was to get within one of the major civilian cities and determine what kind of society they were. Validor was a part of the team to enter the city, and while he understood why, he wasn't too enthused.

He knew that depending on how much information the civilians had access to what the military was up to, you could tell what kind of government and their general stance were. If they restrict information and kept the citizens in the dark, they would have a totalitarian system and would have a strong emphasis on state power and military control, whereas if they didn't restrict information then the government was more liberal and focused more on civil liberties than military control. But for Validor, it was a true pain, as he would be acting as largely a civilian when he was actually a solider. It irked him that his team would have little problem while the other team was taking a huge risk as if they were found out they could be facing at least imprisonment all the way up to facing execution.

"Something on your mind Sergeant?" a soft voice with a Southern Accent asked. Validor turned and saw one of his teammates, Cpl. Alexis Reese, standing behind him in naval digital camouflage. She was actually a marine that would normally serve on the Leviathan, but she had been selected for the mission. He knew that she favored a AA-12D shotgun with a 32 round drum mag due to having been trained in close quarters room clearing ops to serve as a marine.

"Just thinking how we got the easy task in this mission is all," Validor replied, wearily despite his young age. Reese chuckled.

"Just because you've been a ground pounder since you enlisted doesn't mean this task will be a simple cake walk," Reese said. "Who knows, we might end up as a part of the city's militia because of those Black Spawn. Then you get to continue on with your ground pounding."

"Perhaps, but the other team is taking a huge to infiltrate a known military element," Validor countered. "We probably won't be at such a risk of being declared spies."

"True, but unlike us, they were trained about the Tribunal Special Services, whereas our team is military raised and trained," Reese said. "Still, I get your point. Have you heard from them?" Validor knew she was thinking of the commanders behind this operation, Odin, Caesar, and Flanker.

"Nothing but the situation-report detailing our day of deployment for the mission," Validor answered. "It's still set for o' five hundred tomorrow, so if you want to rest up, I'd do it now." Reese chuckled.

"Nah, I need to get some range time with my baby, so perhaps later," Reese replied. "Well, see you on the chopper tomorrow."

"You too," Validor said, still staring out across the calm ocean, his mind still wondering about the apparent dangers in his mission. He sighed, recalling a phrase his mother detested because it was all too true; _the longest hours are the calm before the storm_. And he wondered what storm he was approaching.

"God I hope to make it through alive," Validor muttered to himself.

* * *

' _Cherny Zver' Training Base, 40 miles north of Murmansk, September 11_ _th_ _, 2018_

* * *

"I'm so sore," whined Natayla to Ruby as they tried to fall asleep. "I wasn't expecting so little sleep and so much work."

"So did everyone else Nat," Ruby wearily answered. "So could you please stop whining; we got another nine weeks before we're done with basic, and I don't want to be drilled again by Sgt. Belka because she caught you whining."

The first week of basic was only describable by Ruby in one way; complete and utter hell. The first night she had thought to be the worse, but if anything, it was an appetizer before the main dish. The man-beast turned out to be Senior Sergeant Udinov, who became every recruits' worse nightmare, and he made it his mission to terrorize the recruits. After the impromptu 'conditioning exercise' that occurred the first night, . Udinov made it clear to all of the recruits that failure was unacceptable. Apparently, this recruitment rotation was selected to be a part of a test run of sorts, where no one was allowed to quit or be forced to quit. Ergo, the instructors were going to go to the extremes so that every recruit was suitable for frontline military service.

The following week any and all infractions was punished at the unit level, even if only a single recruit messed something as small as not polishing their shoe properly or (in Ruby's Case on the first day proper) failing to get into her uniform properly and on time. That incident caused the recruitment unit, led by Sgt. Belka, that Ruby was in a twenty-minute run…while it was snowing a bit below freezing. Ruby couldn't keep track at how many push-ups, sit-ups, runs, and verbal barrages her unit had endured; she only knew that it never seemed to end.

"Hey, do you guys know why none of the instructors are watching us now?" Natayla asked Ruby and the bunk mates next to them. None of them knew, and that was cause for concern. Ruby learned that the sergeants took an almost sadistic level of pleasure in waking her unit at some inane hour of the morning, usually between 3 and 5 in the morning, or to prevent them from getting any sleep, coming in an hour later after lights out to drill them in the freezing cold.

"No, but it has me on edge," Ruby said. "Are they planning on ambushing us somehow?" Ruby and Nat, after the uniform infraction that Ruby had suffered, decided to try sleeping lightly, so they could wake at a moment's notice and try and keep from messing with their bunks too much so they didn't waste time on making the bed up.

"If they are, then I don't know what plans they might have," Tanya Romanov replied. "Seriously, I don't know what could be worse than doing our punishments outside during this cold. I heard that one of the recruits from unit 2 had to go to the infirmary due to frostbite; hopefully the poor guy learns not to talk back to the instructors."

Ruby and Natayla winced, knowing about that poor recruit. The . Udinov was doing his usual terror-inducing rants at the recruit, and the recruit snapped, calling Udinov a bastard. This didn't go over well, as Udinov punched the recruit in the stomach so hard that the poor guy collapsed, before working that recruit outside for six hours straight…in the middle of the night. They hadn't heard about the frostbite, but they heard Udinov's bellows from two nights ago.

"Yeah, that seems a bit harsh for being called a bastard though," Ruby replied. "I mean, working a guy till he got frostbite seems very excessive."

"Well, w-wouldn't Udinov have to also stand outside while he drilled t-that guy?" inquired Natasha Belinski, a really short and skinny woman who has glasses and black with speckles of gray hair. The other three remained silent for a moment, realizing that Udinov was also risking frostbite.

"Maybe he doesn't care about getting frostbite?" Natalya weakly suggested. The others didn't buy it.

"No, it would hurt like being burned," Ruby said, remembering the few times she almost got frostbite during the winter months at the orphanage. "So why would he risk himself getting frostbite?"

They remained silent for a moment, pondering the possibilities. It was a scary thought; a commanding officer risking injury to themselves just to punish one of their subordinates. It caused the four girls to shudder nervously.

"Enough about the Senior Sergeant, does anyone have a clue as to what we will be up to for today?" Natalya asked, wanting to get off the subject of Udinov's relentless training methods.

"I hope we get to fire arms training soon; I just love weapons!" Ruby quietly squealed, her minds going to her number one passion. Despite being incredibly young when she ended up on Earth, Ruby still remembered fondly her Uncle Qrow's Sword/Scythe and her father's power gauntlets, and it transferred over to Earth's weapons. While she noticed a distinct lack of mecha-shift weapons, she figured that the lack of Grimm and the constant evolution of warfare she learned of accounted for a shift from melee close quarters combat to the intense street fighting gun duels that occurred in modern warfare.

Of the weapons that caught Ruby's attention were the high powered sniper rifles, like the KSVK 12.7x108mm anti-material sniper rifle and its Western counterpart the M82 .50 cal. Something about hitting a target well beyond a kilometer and remaining undetected fascinated her. Of course, she did find some weapons utterly deplorable, such as nerve Gas, nuclear weapons, and of course flamethrowers. She could understand their battlefield applications, but they horrible effects they have on any unlucky survivors was worse than any fate she could imagine.

"I-I don't think so, I r-remember reading online one t-time that we don't handle any w-weapons until the third or f-fourth week," Natasha answered.

"Yeah, it's probably going to be more drills, runs, and scaring the ever living daylights out of us," Tanya pitched in. Ruby whined.

"God, how long will it be until we do something other than exercise?" Ruby moaned. Natayla rubbed Ruby on the head.

"Down girl, we wouldn't to get into trouble for whining now do we?" Natayla said, smirking as she remembered how this conversation got started. Ruby sighed.

"Fine, then let's get some sleep, hopefully we won't have anything to fear for once tonight?" Ruby replied, closing her eyes. Of course, fate was a fickle one, and decided to make her regret those words, for just a scant two hours later the harbinger of fate came to make Ruby eat her words.

"Rise and shine you runts, its time a for a nightly run out! I heard its well bellowing freezing out there!" bellowed . Udinov. "Time's a wasting, I want you all out in formation in five minutes, and don't you dare show up late!"

The three girls looked at Ruby, wanting to make her eat her words with the glare of pure resentment at Ruby jinxing them. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Don't blame me," Ruby muttered. She seriously hoped that the training would improve soon.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hello Everyone and I'm so sorry for being so late! I didn't mean to take damn nearly 9 months to update, but from the last time I updated to March, I was busy preparing to move, plus I had work. Then from April to now, I've been trying to pump out updates for my various stories, with varying degrees of success. So apologies, I hope to hell I won't take me so long to get the next chapter out.**

 **That said, I have one person to thank for getting this latest chapter out; Phoneix1222. He has sent in a literal plethora of OCs that have and will be showing up in future updates. We just saw two in this chapter; Tanya Romanov and Natasha Belinski, and they with the others he sent in will become major characters in the developing story. Other's have sent in one and two, but Phoneix1222 has been a great help, both with sending in OCs and suggesting ideas.**

 **As to the story, we see Ruby beginning the horrors of BMT and Validor preparing for his recon/undercover mission. This chapter took so long as I had to figure out how detailed to make it and how fast it should progress. I don't know an awful lot of BMT other than what its mission is, so I basing Ruby's BMT experience to a much harsher version of BMT stories I read online, because in Russia, you can't be a pansy; you'd be eaten alive! By the Senior Sergeants! With a spoon!**

 **Plus, this BMT cycle is actually (surprise, surprise) the first wave of men and women that will serve as the foundation of the Spetsnaz Guard Brigade. See, while a Guard Brigade in Russia is usually reserved for veteran units, the SGB is a new military unit, and thus they need to fill their ranks fast. Thus, training fresh recruits to become a part of the SGB was the solution. Therefore, their training will be much harsher than regular army units, and they need men and women who are able to tolerate a greater range of pain, because you aren't always going to have a field hospital if your air deploying well behind enemy lines to conduct a raid mission or to attack an enemy airfield.**

 **As for what the Tribunal is, I'm going to reveal it now, because it's too big to hide; it's the remnants of the former US, EF, and Russian military and government. Why they are on Remnant and why they are cooperating will remain a secret, but know this; the Forgotten Army is to blame, and they make General Izotov look like a nice and honest guy. The good general will regret dearly using them to kick start the third World War, but why will remain a secret.**

 **So yeah, not much else to say, other than Leviathan. Yes, its massive, but we've built ships as I mentioned half it's weight; the only thing preventing us from building bigger is the size of our docks and the sheer amount of resources it would take to construct such a monster. But if resources weren't a limiting factor and you didn't intend for it to return for dock (because they have the facilities onboard to repair all but the most extreme of damages), then why wouldn't you invest in a super vessel?**

 **Anyway guys, please read, follow, favorite, review, and send in your OCs, I can always use them!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A Shooting Prodigy and HALO

* * *

' _Cherny Zver' Training Base, 40 miles north of Murmansk, September 24_ _th_ _, 2018_

"Alright you grunts, today is the most important day of your training thus far!" shouted . Udinov to the assembled recruits, Ruby amongst them. "Today is the day you are issued your service rifle!"

Ruby was glad the last three weeks had clamped down on her enthusiasm for weapons, such as when she squealed at the sight of a passing T-90 main battle tank. This caused . Udinov to have her run around the tank hangar…ninety times at night before having her go back to bed before denying her sleep by arriving 5 minutes after she left. So she was able to curb her desire to fangirl. But still, she was very excited.

"This here is the AK-103, chambered in the 7.62x39mm, and it is the standard weapon of the Russian armed forces. It is based on the Ak-47, so if I here any excuses as to why it isn't working I will call bullshit and have you working in the armory until you fucking die!" . Udinov roared out. He then had two Junior Sergeants handing out an AK-103 to everyone, and Ruby was among the last to receive theirs.

"This rifle, the one in your hand, will be your closest comrade. You will give her a name, you will clean her, you will take care of her better than you would your wife, and you will make sure she is in working condition at all times. She will be your sword against those that wish to kill you, and you will guide her in defending the Motherland! You and your rifle will be inseparable. Regardless of what station you go into, you will have little to no reason not to carry your rifle!"

Udinov then pointed out the door.

"All of you, assemble at the firing range, today is the first day shooting with your partner! Now go, go, go you fucking grunts!" Everyone began sprinting out the door, their rifles in hand. Some carried it in two hands (dominant hand around the pistol grip, weak hand around the forward hand grip), others one handed (either by the pistol grip or the forward hand grip) and a few carried them by the butt of the rifle, with the barrel resting on their shoulder. Ruby carried her two handed, as she didn't want to ding it by chance.

They arrived at the firing range. It was a simple affair; about thirty shooting lanes, with targets at 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, and a thousand meters. The targets were blank human silhouettes with the main target ring at the center of mass. Overall, fairly typical for a military firing range. Udinov came strolling in front of the assembled formation.

"Today, you will learn how to reload your rifle, aim and shoot to targets at fifty meters, and unjam your rifle in the event it should occur by your stupidity," . Udinov started. "First onto reloading your rifle."

Udinov showed all the recruits how to load the magazines, by gripping the magazine in his weak hand and loading a bundle of bullets into the ma. He then grabbed an Ak by the pistol grip, raising it up in the air, and sliding the magazine into the magazine well before rotating the rifle and pulling back on the receiving handle, letting go once it go to the back.

"Now, to aim the rifle, line the back sights with the foresights to where the center piece of the front sight is level with the back sights. Then, you aim at the target, and lightly squeeze the trigger with the middle part of the furthest digit of your index finger."

He then fired six shots at a target three hundred meters away. He then sent for a Junior Sergeant to retrieve the target. When the J. Sgt. Returned, Udinov showed how all the rounds where in a 2.5cm grouping.

"This is the standard of the Russian army for shooting at three hundred meters," Udinov said. "As most firefights occur within three hundred meters, this is what you will be judge against. Failure to achieve similar or better results will be held against you. Now, get to the firing lanes and begin loading your magazines!"

Ruby and the other recruits rushed to a lane, and quickly began loading up to three magainzes. Ruby didn't enjoy this part, as loading ninety rounds was time consuming, and the shouts from . udinov tripped more than one recruiting, leading to further shouting. However, Ruby was amongst the first to complete their loading. It took another two or three minutes for the rest to catch up.

"Now, load a magazine into your rifle, take aim, and then fire!" Udinov commanded. Within seconds, the firing lane turned into a choir of gunfire. Ruby took aim, correctly lining the sights up and gently squeezed the trigger. The rifle bucked into her shoulder, but she was moderately surprised that, despite what the internet had said about the AK-series of rifles, it wasn't as hard as she was expecting it to be.

She continued to aim, braced for the recoil, gentley squeeze the trigger, and reset her aim. She did this until Udinov called for all recruits to stop firing.

"Alright, let's check those targets, and see which ones are complete fuck ups and which ones are just good enough!" The recruits and Udinov walked down to the targets. Ruby was scared for herself as Udinov tore into the first recruit, who only managed a 22cm grouping.

"Are you fucking kidding you recruit Borya? I bet you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn from the inside! This is atrocious and you should be ashamed that this is what you could do! The Motherland has no room for failures! I expect improvement next time!"

This continued with some variety as most didn't come close to the magic 2.2cm grouping, managing on average a five to six centimeter grouping. There was a female recruit with dark gray hair and hazel eyes that managed a three and a half centimeter grouping, and that was the best so far. Ruby felt her heart stop however as Udinov got to her target.

"Well, let's see what recruit Flowers did," Udinov said. Ruby winced; ever since the drill instructors found out about her last name, they took to nicknaming her 'flowers'. She wasn't the only one that had some awful nickname, so it wasn't like she was singled out. But still…

"Well I'll be damned, one of you worthless shits managed to beat me," Udinov said. Ruby blinked; she didn't fuck up? "So, recruit Flowers, is this your first time shooting a rifle?" Udinov got right in Ruby's face.

"Yes sir," she squeaked out. Udinov than snarled at her.

"Are you trying to show me up recruit, because I think you fucking are!"

"No sir, I-I-I-!" Ruby stuttered, her ability to speak gone as she didn't know what to say. She really hadn't meant to outperform Udinov, only meet his standards.

"I-I-I, what the fuck are you meaning to say recruit Flowers!?" Udinov roared. Ruby tried to get her brain and mouth to function, but to her dismay she continued to stutter incoherently.

"Do you fucking speak Russian recruit Flowers?!" Ruby, shocked by the question, answered with the only thing she could think of.

"What sir?" Ruby asked, only to feel like all the blood drained from her body as the entire recruitment body all shared a horror-stricken look towards their clearly intimidated comrade.

"Russian motherfucking recruit do you speak it?!"

"Yes sir!" Ruby answered. Udinov grinned like a bear would when it caught a salmon.

"Then you know what I'm saying?!"

"Yes sir!"

"Then tell me, were you showing me up recruit flowers?!" Finally,

Ruby's brain kicked in.

"No sir!"

"Really recruit, then how do you explain how you outshot me despite being a rookie?! Are you saying that I'm less than you?!"

"No sir, you are certainly better than me sir, I must've gotten lucky sir!" Ruby said. Udinov paused, before grinning again.

"Luck recruit Flowers, that's your explanation?"

"Yes sir!" Ruby didn't have any time to react as she felt the force behind Udinov's punch impact her stomach. She crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath.

"You mean to tell me none of my instructions got through that brick dome you call a fucking skull, and instead you got lucky?!" Udinov shouted. "Luck gets you no where recruit Flowers! Now, get back to the starting position, I think you need more rangetime to make sure its not luck that made those shots possible! Fucking run recruit before I decide to make it worse!"

Ruby, scared shitless of Udinov, did quite possibly the worst thing she could've done short of insulting or punching Udinow; she activated her semblance and got to the firing position in under four seconds. When she stopped, she felt the eyes of the instructors, the recruit body, and Udinov staring at her as rose petals fell to the ground after her brief semblance sprint. Ruby made out Udinov's boiling face and felt an extreme desire to wilt and die right then and there.

"RECRUIT FLOWERS!"

* * *

 _Location unknown, Mission time 00:24 and counting, aboard V-25 Goshawk 'Night Runner'_

* * *

Sgt. Validor checked his kit one more time aboard the V-25 Goshawk as it flew to their insertion point. He had a OSV-96 anti-material rifle which he modified to accommodate a 20 round magazine and a 40x scope, a PP-3000 PDW with a suppressor for close range firefights, three fragmentation grenades, his night-vision goggles, and finally a woodland camouflage uniform with a ballistic plate for protection.

He saw the others in his squad doing the same. It made sense; they were only five minutes out from their insertion point, and the last thing was for them to not have something strapped on properly. He personally thought they were packing a bit too much heat; after all, weren't they supposed to be in the city infiltrating as civilians, but apparently intel from higher up said that it wasn't unusual for people to have a larger than norm amount of firepower if the pictures collected from the drones were anything to go off of.

Cpl. Alexis Reese punched his shoulder lightly.

"Lighten up Validor, we get in, scope around town for a bit, then bug out and report to High Command," Alexis said. Validor was beat to the punch by another of his squad mate snorting. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was sporting a blue urban uniform, while holding a SC-20k with under barrel grenade launcher.

"Nothing is easy Alexis, you should know that as well as we all do," replied Cpl. Erich Bluthart.

"Yeah Reese, you should be taking this more seriously; what if when we get to the main city, we get caught by their forces and interrogated?" said a tall black soldier wearing a light-tan urban exoskeleton while having his AT5CQ rocket launcher leaning on the seat next to him.

"Oh I don't know Davis, but I am certain we can avoid getting picked up by their forces; I mean, we've been trained by the best and fought the Black Beast ever since we joined the military," Alexis said. "But I get the point. Hey, Roman, what do you think?"

"Eh, whad was that?" grumbled through a gas mask the only member that Validor wanted to punch for one reason; he was constantly drunk. Yet that being said, Validor knew he was competent with his trade mark PKP light machine gun to the point he could hit targets one hundred yards away with a five second burst…from the hip.

"Roman for god's sakes please sober the fuck up during the mission," Alexis said. "And I asked your opinion about this mission." Roman shrugged.

"If there is bar I will be happy. If I get to shoot black beasts I be happier. If I get to drink at bar, shoot black beast, and pick up some chicks I will be the happiest man on earth," Roman said before checking that his belt for his machine gun was loaded. The pilot then cut through the chatter.

"This is your pilot, we are two minutes from the insertion point, we have low clouds and fog to obscure your landing, and our sensors are picking up low level black beasts in the nearby vicinity. Be prepared for a hot landing, our crew chief will open up with the GAU minis to cover you. Remember, if the mission go bottom ups and you need extraction, the code is 'Goliath'."

"Roger that," Validor said. He then got up, attaching himself to the fast rop that he and his team would be using to rappel down to the forest floor. His team did the same, and for two minutes they waited, until the red light in the cabin turned green.

"Go, go, go!" shouted the crew chief, before he spotted some of the black beast. The Crew chief turned the six barrels of the M134 Gau-17 minigun and began unleashing the withering fire of 7.62mm. The large bipedal wolves that were encounter were cut in half. Validor quickly slid down the rope, and after detaching himself leveled his PP-3000, firing accurate six round bursts into the incoming black beast. Two went down quickly, but a third almost got to him.

Almost, because the thundering boom of Alexis's AA-12 shotgun unleashed her preferred heavy 12 gauge buckshot into the black beast, ripping holes into it. As each member came down from the helicopter, the black beast kept coming. But as soon as the insufferable drunk Russian came down, that soon change as he began scything their ranks with his PKP, leading to the remaining black beasts' demise.

The V-25 soon rose, before shifting its rotors and flying the hell out of there, leaving Validor's squad on their own. Validor pulled out his compass and map, and quickly got them oriented in the right direction. The quickly and quietly stalked through the woods, heading to the nearby settlement.

It took thirty minutes due to the uneven ground, it being night, with fog cover, and no local experience, but soon Validor and his squad arrived on the road that would lead them to the gate. Validor paused, motioning to his squad.

"Remember, no one speaks except when directly talked to, and make no mention of the Tribunal," Validor ordered. "Also, remove any identifying markers that could trace back to the Tribunal." The others complied, and soon the five man squad approached, their weapons either in their holsters or slung on their backs. As they approach, Validor could see two men in light ballistic armor covering the chest, upper arms and upper legs, and a helmet that obscured their upper face, leaving only their lower jaw exposed.

"Halt, you are approaching Vale, what is your business?" stated one of the men. Validor raised his hands in a sign of surrender.

"hey, we come a long way to get here, and we had to deal with those devils that plague the woods," Validor said. "We came here for supplies, a place to rest, and possible get jobs." The two men looked at the group, and noticed their weapons.

"Hmm, you have any ID for us to see?" Validor reached into his upper pocket and pulled out a generic ID card, one without anything to identify him as military personnel nor tie him to the Tribunal.

"Here, this is the best I got," Validor said. The first man came over and inspected the card.

"Huh, must be one of those nomads that aren't connected to any of the kingdoms," the man said. "Look, we have a screening process you'll have to go through, and you can't have your weapons on you until you are cleared; can't have anyone that is wanted, affliated with known terrorist groups, or has some disease that would tear through the city of Vale. Come on, follow me."

The five followed the two men, wondering how bad this screening process could be.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hello Everyone, long time no see. Sorry, this chapter was annoying for me to write as I'm a civilian, no experience in BMT, and therefore having to create some good moments without being a complete ass to the military. So this is the best I could come up with, but the next chapter should hopefully be better as we get to do something that most BMT have; a week long experience that is supposed to simulate a warzone. That'll be far more interesting and easy to write, as its just doing a mock battle and not going through what most consider standard BMT affair (as inspired by films like 'Full Metal Jacket' and the like). But onto some key points;**

 **-Ruby's semblance: I made it apparent that Ruby never once until now used her semblance, with the reason being that she quickly grew up realizing that others didn't have aura or semblances. Could you imagine how much unwanted attention one person would get if they, for instance, sprinted a considerable distant faster than anyone else, and not setting records, but smashing them? The reason she slipped up is because well, someone like Udinov isn't someone you can control your fear and anxiety around easily.**

 **But before anyone asks, no one on Earth will have semblances. I have reasons, but I can't at this moment explain why adequately. Will this cause problems for Ruby; yes it does, but not to the level of 'time to cut you pen to see what makes you tick' levels, but more 'you fucking hid this from us, oh boy, time to be our personal delivery girl!' levels.**

 **That is the only big thing I want to discuss at the moment, so until next time guys, please, read, review, follow, and favorite the story, and I'll catch you guys next time.**


	7. Adopted

**Author's Note: Hello everyone, this is Panzer4life, and this is a short update because I have news for you.**

 **As you know, I was cancelling 'A Rose's Endwar', but I offered to put it up for adoption. Thankfully for you guys, Phoenix1222, a author who was helping me on it, has adopted it, so expect it soon. That's all for now, thank you guys for your support, so go support Phoenix1222's 'A Rose's Endwar'.**


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